MEDEX Northwest has taken a competency-based approach to curriculum design since it opened in 1969. The two primary components of the curriculum are the classroom (known as didactic) phase and the clinical phase. Each section spans approximately one year, including an additional quarter of material preparing them for advanced clinical and leadership roles, for a total of 27 months and 162 credits.
The Didactic Year
The MEDEX curriculum is a competency-based, integrated spiral curriculum that uses organ-system clinical medicine as the primary organizational structure while intentionally scaffolding clinical reasoning, technical skills, professional identity, evidence-based practice, population health, and systems-based practice through longitudinal horizontal and vertical integration, culminating in a transition-to-clerkship phase focused on synthesis, performance, and readiness for supervised clinical practice.
The Clinical Year
The MEDEX clinical year offers students a broad and immersive experience across the WWAMI region and Hawaii. MEDEX maintains and cultivates an extensive network of clinical sites and preceptors, and students should expect to travel during this phase of their education.
Clinical assignments are carefully structured to provide exposure to a wide range of medical settings, patient populations, and geographic locations.
Students complete ten clinical rotations. Throughout the clinical year, students also:
- Prepare for the PANCE and post-graduation practice
- Complete a comprehensive Summative Evaluation in their final quarter
Clinical schedules are personalized, taking into account site availability, student interests, and learning needs, while ensuring a well-rounded foundation in primary and specialty care.
Enrollment Note
During each quarter of clinical education (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer), students are registered in the placeholder course MEDEX 699: Supervised Clinical Experience Clinical Clerkships. At the end of each quarter, the specific course names and numbers are updated on transcripts to reflect completed rotations. The total clinical coursework accounts for 85 credits.